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Category: 2024

El Campo, TX

El Campo, TX

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El Campo is situated in the center of the Coastal Plains of Texas. Because of the bountiful native grasses, these plains were used as open range for cattle by Spanish explorers, later by Mexican cattlemen and then settlers brought in by Colonist Stephen F. Austin. After Texas won its independence from Mexico, German, Irish and Swedish immigrants moved into the area and cattle production remained the principal income of the people.

In 1882, a railroad camp (section No. 230) was situated where El Campo now stands. The little camp was first called “Prairie Switch” because it served as a switching point on the Houston-Victoria Railroad and a shipping point on the New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad. In fact, during the mid-1880s, El Campo was the largest prairie hay shipping point in the entire United States.

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Galveston, TX

Galveston, TX

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Although we spent three months on Galveston Island between December 2023 and February 2024 we unfortunately didn’t get to see a lot of the “touristy” attractions there. Instead, we spent a lot of time preparing for travel during 2024 including settling on (and ordering) new furniture, looking at interior decorating changes and updating things like one of our vent fans, bathroom faucets and replacing our water heater in the middle of a wind storm with wind gusts to 65 mph. We also spent a fair amount of time planning our route for 2024 and booking many of the stops along the way – more to come as we travel to the north west this summer including a month near Glacier National Park.

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Wheatland, WY

Wheatland, WY

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Park Review – El Rancho Village RV Park and Cabins

Site 24

Rating: ⭐⭐ 1/2
Location: Wheatland, WY
Type: Commercial Park
Check-in/Check-out times: 12:00/11:00
Site Quality / Amenities: Sites are full hookup with 30/50A service an no other amenities. There are mens and womens bathrooms/showers and a laundry. There are also 6 small cabins available for rent.
Access: Easy access from Interstate 25 at the Fish Creek Rd. exit. The park is alongside the interstate on the west side.
Staff: Friendly and efficient. We had pre-booked and pre-paid so check in took all of about minute.
Cellular/WiFi: The park had WiFi but we didn’t use it. We were at the north end of the park and the WiFi was likely at the office near the south end so the signal was weak. We had 3-4 bars ob Verizon and the speeds were OK at about 25 Mbps down and 8 Mbps up.
Restaurants: We did not eat out during out stay.
Nearby parks: We did not look at any other parks during our stay and there aren’t a lot of options in this area.
What we liked: Easy access to the park and it was exactly half way to our next major stop. Nice view of the mountains to the west.
What we didn’t like: A small amount of noise was detectable from the Interstate. Not much of anything to do in the immediate area but this makes a good overnight stay.
Verdict: We would stay here again for a one night stop when travelling through the area.

Fort Collins, CO

Fort Collins, CO

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Fort Collins was founded as a military outpost of the United States Army in 1864. Settlers began arriving in the vicinity of the fort almost immediately. The fort was decommissioned in 1867 but the area continued to grow and thrive. Today the city is the fourth most populous city in Colorado with a population of 169,810 at the 2020 census.

Situated on the Cache La Poudre River along the Colorado Front Range, Fort Collins is located 56 miles north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Fort Collins is a midsize college town, home to Colorado State University and Front Range Community College’s Larimer campus. Much of Fort Collins’s culture is centered around the students of Colorado State University. There is a local music circuit which is influenced by the college town atmosphere and Fort Collins is home to a number of well known microbreweries. The Downtown Business Association hosts a number of small and large festivals each year in the historic Downtown district. The Fort Collins Lincoln Center is home to the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra and regularly attracts national touring companies of Broadway plays.

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Wolfforth (Lubbock), TX

Wolfforth (Lubbock), TX

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Park Review – Mesa Verde RV Park

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Location:  Wolfforth, TX
Type: Commercial Park
Check-in/Check-out times: 1:00PM/12:00PM
Site Quality / Amenities: Gravel pads and asphalt roads. Cable TV is also available. The sites have no additional amenities. There is a pool, exercise room, rest rooms, showers and laundry room available on site.
Access: From US 62/82 west of Lubbock take the FM 179 Wolfforth exit when heading west or the frontage road exit just before the FM 193/82nd street exit when heading east. Note that the park’s website showing the 82nd street exit is incorrect.
Staff: The lady who runs the park is nice if not a bit rough. Unlike our other Lubbock favorite, The Retreat RV Resort, Mesa Verde allow you to book month long stays well in advance.
Cellular/WiFi: WiFi was available but we did not use it. Verizon was 5G and decently fast at 22MB upload and 36MB download. AT&T was slower at 6MB upload and 15Mb download.
Restaurants: Hot and Jucy Cajun Seafood – Was not good despite high reviews. Teddy Jacks Hub City Grill – Good burgers and a variety of other bar type food. La Diosa – Good place for Tapas and wine. The Farmhouse – Great place for breakfast, good food and very reasonable prices. Uncle Julio’s – Mexican that was just OK but somewhat expensive. Abuelo’s Mexican – Chain restaurant that we used to consider to be expensive but now seems reasonable. One of our favorites in Lubbock. They could turn down both the music and their plate warmer. Evie Mae’s BBQ – Very good place for BBQ and not far from the park. Be careful of limited hours and large crowds though. The Shack BBQ – Another really good BBQ joint worth the small drive.
Nearby parks: See The Retreat RV Resort post for another good RV park in the area as well as reviews of other nearby parks.
What we liked: Convenient to our doctors and to the south west side of Lubbock where some of the newer and more upscale restaurants and stores exist. Park is well maintained and seems to have good standards for the people staying in the park.
What we didn’t like: Some road noise from the nearby highway. Just a basic park with few frills. It’s basically a gravel parking lot but the sites are wide so there is a bit of extra room.
Verdict: In most cases we’d say this was a good place for an overnight to a couple of nights. Since we now come to Lubbock for doctor appointments and need to book 2 to 4 weeks each time and since this park is conveniently located we will likely come here again for these longer stays. Sites 66-71 are best but 12-15 might work and even 16-20 might be OK if they are long enough. The latter sites are closer to the highway though and might be noisier.